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Roundup: Singapore stocks end down 0.8 pct

Xinhua, November 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Singapore shares closed 0.8 percent lower on Monday, as contraction in China's manufacturing sector weighed on investors' sentiment.

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 48.3 in October, while official manufacturing data reported by China's statistics agency on Sunday stayed the same at 49.8 from September to October. Both numbers are below 50, meaning that the manufacturing sector in the second largest economy of the world is still contracting.

Investors now focus on U.S. data, including the all-important non-farm payrolls due on Friday, and how that could affect the U.S. Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates.

DBS Group Research said, "We see a 'quiet' November with Straits Times Index range bound from 2,950 points to 3,050 points as investors await the outcome of the European Central Bank policy meeting on Dec. 3 and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Dec. 16."

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 23.94 points to 2,974.41 points. Trading volume was 1.31 billion shares worth 885 million Singapore dollars. Decliners outnumbered advancers 283 to 129, while 518 stocks did not move.

DBS Group Holdings fell 0.1 percent to 17.25 Singapore dollars. The Singapore's biggest bank reported its third-quarter net profit rose 6 percent to 1.07 billion Singapore dollars from 1.01 billion Singapore dollars a year earlier. Its net interest rate margin, the difference between income from lending and cost of funding, also gained 10 basis points to 1.78 percent in the third quarter, hitting a four-year high.

Neptune Orient Lines shed 3.5 percent to 96 Singapore cents. The container shipper reported a net loss of 96.1 million U.S. dollars in the third quarter, compared with a net loss of 23.1 million U.S. dollars in the same period last year, as trade to the U.S. and Europe remained slow.

Its revenue declined 28 percent year-on-year to 1.21 billion U.S. dollars. The absence of the traditional third quarter peak season in Europe and North America led to severe freight rates erosion in major trade lanes.

Among top gainers, Great Eastern Holdings rose 0.6 percent to 21.48 Singapore dollars, while Jardine Matheson became one of the top losers by falling 2.6 percent to 53.15 U.S. dollars. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 1.40 Singapore dollars) Endit